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Super Tuesday Kicks Off
Aired February 05, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Welcome to Super Tuesday. Polls are opening in California right now. Voters there joining millions of you making your voices heard. We are going to be talking all about it this morning. I want to go ahead and take a look at a map. To give you a better idea of what states are in play today. 24 in all. Plus, American Samoa, Democrats competing in 22 states. Republicans have 21 contests. Here's what's at stake.
For Democrats more than 1,600 delegates. The Republicans have 1,020 up for grabs. Republicans favor the winner take all system either at a district level or as the state as a whole. At least 12 states, including New York and California, they both work that way. But the Democrats divide their delegates proportionally. That's why the Clinton-Obama fight is still likely to be a fight on Wednesday morning when we wake up. That's why you should count on the best political team on television. We have correspondents positioned in key states across the country covering all of the angles.
Political predictor, going back to 1992, Georgia primary voters have picked candidates that went on to win their party's nomination. Will that run continue? Our Rusty Dornin is in Marietta, Georgia, this morning. Hey there, Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi. And you know this part of Georgia, Cobb county additionally very Republican. We're right past the rush hour here at the Noon Day Baptist Church in Marietta. Things have slowed down considerably. But I tell you what's at stake here in Georgia really became clear. The very first question I asked one of the voters after she came out casting her ballot, asking what were the issues here. She said, well, it's the economy, it's the war, but really I want a candidate whose values I can depend on, whose faith I can depend on. And of course, here in Georgia, Christian conservatives, the vote is split between Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. They've both been battling it out over the weekend here. Mitt Romney did appear at Georgia Tech yesterday talking to students. Mike Huckabee was at a church organizer, he went to church actually where Governor Sony Purdue attends. Did attend a picnic afterwards stressing his Christian southern values.
On the Democrat side, Barack Obama has been attracting big numbers here in Georgia really energizing the African-American vote. Hillary Clinton for Bill Clinton was here stumping for his wife over the weekend as well in Atlanta. Now, one of the things facing Georgia voters here that is a little bit controversial, too, is that they have to show a photo I.D. when they come in. That's not considered to be any kind of an issue here. We're in a very affluent, mostly white suburb here in this part of Georgia. Also, just the fact that there's great weather, supposed to be in the 70s, big turnout expected. 30 to 35 percent here. But apparently Georgia really up for grabs, at least one of the parties are concerned. Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. It's going to be really interesting. All right, Rusty. We'll check back later on with you. Thank you.
So will the weather affect voter turnout? Meteorologist Rob Marciano joining us live now from the severe weather center. What we know in Georgia, this part of Georgia, it's going to be 70 today.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, no excuses for sure in Georgia. Tomorrow, the weather will go downhill. But elsewhere, Heidi, a big problem. Right in the middle of the country we've got a storm that's going to bring snow. It's going to bring heavy rain, thunderstorms, maybe some tornadoes as well. You've got pink on the map. That's never a good thing. And the highlighted white borders, a place like Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, you know, 24 of them, for crying out loud, they're having their primaries or caucuses. And as luck would have it, Arkansas, eastern parts of it and western parts of Tennessee, damaging winds. The storm prediction center has upgraded the likelihood of seeing severe weather to high, high risk. That is rare even in the springtime let alone February.
So this is an unusual situation for sure. We're seeing thunderstorms roll through Oklahoma now. They'll be popping in through parts of Arkansas as we go through the morning and the afternoon, Missouri as well. The northern part of the system seeing snow from Denver across parts of the Midwest. Let's take you to Denver. You got that shot real quick. Live picture from Denver, Colorado, where they saw some snow? It's darn right cold there. There it is. Mile High City, that's winter time for you. KUSA, our affiliate that way giving us some nice shot of downtown.
Let's go east, Omaha, Nebraska. There on our winter weather advisory for seeing snow, already some on the ground there. Thank you, KETV. Let's go to New Mexico. This is not a live shot, but pictures from Chama, New Mexico, where the town is literally buried in snow. They got the tractors out. They got them over their heads there as far as their -- they're shoveling off the rooftops in parts of New Mexico. Extreme storm certainly heading that way. Here's a quick look at the snowfall prediction map from Omaha across Iowa through southern parts of Wisconsin. In northern Illinois, you could see several inches of snow on the north side of this system. But I think, Heidi, as we go through the next several hours into tonight, folks who live across the mid south, the mid Mississippi River Valley really need to keep an eye to the sky and keep it tuned here at severe weather and their neighborhood.
COLLINS: OK. You let us know if we need to get back to you to warn them about that should it happen. All right, Rob. Thank you.
MARCIANO: You go tit.
COLLINS: California now, big state with a big prize. CNN's Tom Foreman on why California is critical real estate to the candidates. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, if you're ready for change --
TOM FOREMAN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton once owned California, but polls say Barack Obama has now taken joint custody. So both candidates scrambling to secure the primary season's biggest prize.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT, U.S.: The choice we have today is to pick the best president.
OPRAH WINFREY, T.V. HOST: I'm just following my own truth and that truth has led me to Barack Obama.
FOREMAN: More than 36 million residents, 1 in 8 Americans, California offers more delegates for each party than any other state.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: From the state of California.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: California.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In California.
MIKE HUCKABEE (), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In California.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Across California.
FOREMAN: For Democrats, the power is in the city, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Clinton has been strong among traditional working class dems and Latinos who are almost one-half of L.A.'s population. Obama appeals to more educated, affluent dems. There are plenty of them here. And yet in this 11th hour, he's steadily chewing at Clinton's base, too. Politico's Jean Cummings.
JEAN CUMMINGS, THE POLITICO: He was undoubtedly helped this weekend when he was endorse by the biggest Hispanic paper in the country in L.A. because he has not done well with Hispanic voters and that was a major get for him in California.
FOREMAN: As for the Republicans they tend to do better in the suburbs and countryside, where Mitt Romney needs California conservatives and Mike Huckabee needs them even more. Both men and Ron Paul trail John McCain in national polls. And though Romney is running even with the Arizona senator here in the land of Reagan, moderates appear to be leaning McCain's way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: So a showdown is shaping up in the wild west. Is it possible to win either party's nomination without the California delegates? Sure. But, with them, it is so much easier. That's why just as the 49ers went to California for gold, the campaigns are all now mining the state ferociously, they know this is where political fortunes, too, are lost and found. Tom foreman, CNN, Washington.
COLLINS: Super Tuesday could bring a clearer picture of the Republican race. That's if John McCain keeps up his momentum. CNN's Dana Bash is following McCain's campaign in phoenix. She is in Phoenix this morning and joins us now by telephone. Good morning to you once again, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, Phoenix is the place where John McCain is going to end up. He started the day on the east coast. Curious to some observers, because the east coast, particularly the states where he has been campaigning, like New York especially, that's where he was this morning. That is a place where if you look at the polls he's been doing quite well. Actually, in some polls, in double-digit leads there. The state of California where he is going to come out west where I am later this afternoon, that is where the McCain campaign, even McCain himself, realizes that he may have some problems there. Even though some polls show him slightly ahead, it is extremely, extremely competitive in the very, very delegate-rich state of California. But this morning, despite all that, in New York City, in the heart of New York City, John McCain sounded like a very confident candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's well-known that I'm pretty superstitious. I carry a penny around with me with a head up that a guy gave me. I do all kinds of weird things and I am superstitious. But the reason why I'm superstitious is because I'm the luckiest guy you'll ever know. I'm the most fortunate guy. I'm the luckiest guy you'll ever know. I've survived so many things that I know that it's my chance and my opportunity to serve this country a little while longer. And my friends, as president of the United States, I will call Americans to serve a cause greater than their self interest, the noblest cause is service to your country. I will call a generation to serve, a cause greater than their self interest.
America's greatest days are ahead of us. I'm not only superstitious. I'm not only lucky but I'm the most optimistic guy in the world about this nation. We are the greatest nation on earth. We will continue to lead. And we will, as Ronald Reagan said, a shining city on a hill. We're going to win today and we're going to win the nomination and we're going the presidency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Again, a quite confident John McCain there, despite the fact that his campaign clearly, just by looking at their actions, clearly is worried about what Mitt Romney has been doing over the last several days. Very, very aggressively, which is tapping into John McCain's weak spot, and his weak spot is with many conservatives, from Rush Limbaugh to some other folks in Washington and around the country, who simply think that he is not conservative enough to be the Republican nominee. The McCain campaign has the former Republican presidential nominee, Bob Doyle, write a very detailed letter to Rush Limbaugh yesterday explaining why he does think McCain is conservative but nevertheless Mitt Romney, McCain's chief rival here in this important super Tuesday, primary day, he is pounding away at the fact that he considers himself the conservative alternative to John McCain because, he says, in legislation after legislation, John McCain supported policies that simply don't fit with the conservative philosophy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just don't think that the party is going to want to choose somebody who voted against Anwar, somebody who voted against the Bush tax cuts, somebody who was in favor of McCain-Feingold which hit the first amendment and our party very hard, somebody who was for McCain-Kennedy who gave amnesty to illegals. And finally this new bill, McCain-Lieberman, which has a $0.50 per gallon charge on gasoline. These ideas are not Republican ideas. And I think Senator McCain is finding a lot of resistance in our party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And as for Mitt Romney, he is actually speaking, I believe, now in the state of West Virginia at their convention. West Virginia gets their delegates and appoints their delegates through a convention. And Mitt Romney is personally appealing to the state of West Virginia to get toes delegates because that is the name of the game today, to get as many delegates as possible. It is a very complicated process. Each day it's different. Some states on the Republican side are winner take all, like the state of New York where John McCain was campaigning today, New Jersey where he was yesterday. But again, the state of California where John McCain is going to be going later today as one last stop. It's going to be probably the place where we are going to see what happens in this big picture on super Tuesday and it's going to be very, very late tonight when we find that our, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes and the best part is, Dana, I'll see you back here really early tomorrow morning.
BASH: You will.
COLLINS: All right. See you then. CNN's Dana Bash on the McCain campaign there in Arizona.
Today's super Tuesday contests are likely to be super close. Track all the results as they come in, minute by minute, state by state, all day and all night at cnnpolitics.com. Plus, analysis from the best political team on television. That's at cnnpolitics.com.
Breaking it down block by block, women, Christians and young voters. Who will be the vote for today? I'll talk to all three insiders coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Celebrities stumping. Will the candidates play a supporting role to their supporters. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Focusing now on influential voting blocks heavily accorded by the candidates. We're talking about evangelicals, women and young voters. Joining me live now with their view from New York, David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network and in Washington, Page Gardner of Women's Voices, Women's Vote and Jehmu Greene, former president of "Rock the Vote." Thanks to all three of you for being here this morning. Really interesting to have you here to find out more about these different demographics we have out and about specifically on super Tuesday. David, I want to start out with you. Can the Republican party really count on evangelicals coming to the polls and voting Republican today?
DAVID BRODY, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK: No. I think in a word no. I think it's up for grabs. You know there are a lot of factors in that. I mean the Democratic party, special the Democratic National Committee has made inroads, Heidi, since 2004. They have really targeted evangelicals, born again Christians as well and people of other faiths, too. So what you're going to see here is that this has gone on for a while. This not an overnight sensation. This is not all of a sudden Democrats are playing to people of faith. This has been going on for a while. And they've actually sent surrogates to these communities, folks that care about things like Darfur and poverty and a host of other issues. Climate change is a big one. So, they're not looking for the pro life, pro-traditional marriage votes and they've made major inroads. It has really opened up the playing field.
COLLINS: So, who are they going to vote for?
BRODY: Well, on the Democratic side, you know, it depends. I mean, there are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama actually have two different distinct set of appeal if you will, to evangelical voters to a certain extent. I mean, Barack Obama talks a lot about reaching across party lines if you will, bipartisan approach. You know, he talks the language of evangelicals quite a bit. He will talk about his personal relationship with Christ. That resonates with evangelicals and they will be more apt to listen to him. And Hillary Clinton, of course, has a story of her own. And then on the Republican side, it goes down a wide mix as we move forward.
COLLINS: It does. It's fascinating on that account for sure. Page, I know you focus a lot of your work on young, unmarried women. Some interesting statistics that I was reading through. What specifically does that demographic mean to this election?
PAGE GARDNER, WOMEN'S VOICES, WOMEN VOTE: That demographic is going to be pivotal to this election. There have been unmarried women in general have been the largest swing group as you have gone there from state to state. And it's interesting that the share of the electorate of those who are under 45 has actually equaled to the share of those unmarried women over 45. So you're seeing both age groups turn out in high numbers.
COLLINS: OK. So who are they voting for? GARDNER: Well, they are gone from candidate to candidate. And I think what's interesting to me is the participation rates of unmarried women has grown so dramatically in this election cycle. Historically, they have performed under, married women in terms of their participation rates. But now they're paying attention and they're showing up to the polls.
COLLINS: OK. So a lot more of them, just not sure exactly how they will cast their vote, certainly not going in one direction. That's what you're saying.
GARDNER: That's exactly right.
COLLINS: Jehmu, I want to get to you. You say there will definitely be a high voter turnout for the youth of this country. Why do you think that is this time around?
JEHMU GREENE, FRNMR. PRES., ROCK THE VOTE: Because this is a trend that we have been seeing since the 2004 election. In 2004, there was a 9 percent increase with voters under the age of 30. We saw another increase in the 2006 mid-term election and given the amount of aggressive campaigning we have seen from Senator Obama and Senator Clinton and Huckabee and Ron Paul, young voters are really in the poll position going into super Tuesday to come out as the deciding factor. They're the political force to be reckoned with right now. There are 44 million young voters under the age of 30 eligible to vote. They make up 21 percent of the electorate. And the campaigns have recognized that. I think if you look at in 2004, the John Kerry campaign was really rolling their eyes at young people in the beginning. At the end of the race they're like, we're counting on young people. This time around it's the young voters from the very beginning.
COLLINS: Yes. In fact, you say that young voters care about the same types of issues as older voters. It's not that, you know, they care about something different. It's just that they have different perspective.
GREENE: Absolutely. Young voters, absolutely, are looking at the economy and jobs as a top issue, the war in Iraq. When it comes to the war, it's their peers who are fighting and dying on the front lines. They want them to come home. When it comes to the economy and jobs in the rising cost of college tuition if you look at what we talked about on an MTV forum the other day where the candidates said college is being really -- the doors being slammed in their face for college, the rising cost of it. I think this generation understands that they have the most at stake when it comes to what these candidates are going to do for the next four years.
COLLINS: Yes, interesting. Page, back to you. As far as women go, what issues are most important to them? Does that break down men versus women?
GARDNER: Well, among unmarried women particularly the key issue is the economy. I mean, they are most -- the most affected group by the downturn in the economy. So things dealing with their economic marginality and their struggles economically are really going to resonate with them. In addition, the war in Iraq. They were the first group of voters who want to get out of the war in Iraq and have been consistent ever since. So it's economy and the war in Iraq.
COLLINS: And David, in fact, on that note, you say that people underestimate how much evangelicals really care about radical Islam and the war on terror. Are we going to see effects of that in the polls today?
BRODY: Yes, I think so, to a certain degree. John McCain is probably going to be helped out quite immensely on that. You know, everywhere I go on the campaign trail, they evangelicals that I've talk will say, hey, listen, you know what I care about the life issue, I care about the marriage issue. Those are nonnegotiables for me. By the way, I don't want to get blown up by a terrorist as well. I mean, a lot of times we put evangelicals in a box and look at them as just a subgroup. But indeed they do care a lot about the war on terror and national security. And John McCain is tapping into some of that. The patriotism, the P.O.W., The Straight Talker. Evangelicals care quite a bit about this idea that things are black and white, good versus evil. And this plays quite well within the McCain camp, and they know it.
COLLINS: All right. Quickly to all three of you -- tell me real quick now what we're going to see on Wednesday morning with regard to your demographic that we talked about here today. Page.
PAGE GARDNER: I think the key thing you'll see is a continuing trend and enormous participation rates and they will be the pivotal group.
COLLINS: All right. Jehmu.
GREENE: I was going to say the exact same thing, young voter also be the pivotal group. I think they will probably ...
COLLINS: It can't be the same answer.
GREENE: Though probably at least double their turnout. I think their turnout in California and Minnesota is going to be overwhelming. And I think probably Senator Obama is going to get the lion's share of that vote.
COLLINS: And David, final thoughts?
BRODY: I think you'll see Mike Huckabee do very well in the south with the evangelicals but don't count out John McCain. He has pulled very well. You may see a three-way split.
COLLINS: All right, guys. Thanks so much. Great conversation. Appreciate it. David Brody, Page Gardner and Jehmu Greene. Once again, thank you.
If you would like to watch any of the candidates them today, go to cnn.com/live. There are a lot of events, a lot of rallies happening. We are streaming them all live right there for you. Coming up, are they to pollsters or lying to themselves? Why voters say one thing and think something else, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Senator Hillary Clinton is at home for supper -- super Tuesday that would be, but she's hitting the airwaves. Clinton and her husband voted this morning at their polling place, Chappaqua. She might be home for super, we don't know. Before that she was on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING talking about the big issue on voters' minds, the sluggish economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And the most important thing is, number one, we get the stimulus out. Number two, we start working work to turn the economy around. We have two wars abroad. We're on the brink of a recession. Some states say they're already in a recession. We need a president who is tested and ready on day one to turn the economy around and make it start working for middle class families again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Clinton has a bevy of TV and radio interviews on tap for today.
We're trying to block John McCain's nomination, the super Tuesday Mitt Romney arguing that McCain is weak on the economy and conservative values.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just don't think that the party is going to want to choose somebody who voted against Anwar, somebody who voted against the Bush tax cuts, somebody who was in favor of Mccain-Feingold which hit the first amendment and our party very hard, somebody who was for McCain-Kennedy that gave amnesty to illegals and finally this new will, McCain-Lieberman which adds 50 cent per gallon charge in gasoline. These ideas are not Republican ideas. And I think Senator McCain is finding a lot of resistance in our party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Romney is campaigning in West Virginia today.
One was super Tuesday state four years ago. The other moved up to become a player. Eastern influence, we'll talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. It's Super Tuesday and polling places are open. Good job to everybody who has already voted. Millions more of you though, will do the same before closing time tonight. This is the closest thing we have ever seen to a national primary. 24 states in all compared with just 10 on super Tuesday back in 2004. At stake is the lion's share of delegates need to win nominations for both Republicans and Democrats.
They moved the primary up to move up on the political influence ladder. So, how are New Jersey voters responding to being part of Super Tuesday? It's their first time out. Our Jason Carroll is at a polling station in Fort Lee. So, how is it going, Jason?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Heidi. As you can see, things are heating up here that the polling station here in Fort Lee, New Jersey. This is a fire station, but today polling station. You've got the election workers who are keeping the voters on their toes as they show up here ready to cast their vote.
As you say, New Jersey did move its primary up so the voter here's could have more influence, more of the say on the Democratic or Republican nominee for president. This year they definitely got their wish. The Democratic race is tighter than ever. Yesterday, Senator Barack Obama campaigned in East Rutherford. This is the second time he has had a rally in northern New Jersey within the past month.
Senator Clinton, supporters say that they have a slight edge in the state. And so, they dispatched Chelsea Clinton to the state to do some campaigning. On the Republican side, Senator John McCain has had a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in the state. And McCain spent much of his time yesterday here in the state doing campaigning.
Mitt Romney sent out his son to hit The Garden State as well. What this is all going to come down to, Heidi, obviously is what voters end up doing when they come to polling places like this one. In past primaries, the voter turnout has been somewhat low. But because they moved up the primary here in New Jersey they're actually expecting turnout to be much, much higher this go around. Heidi?
COLLINS: We will be watching closely. Jason Carroll, thank you, live from Fort Lee, New Jersey.
New York is an important prize, too, with the second highest number of Super Tuesday delegates at stake. CNN's Allan Chernoff is in Harlem this morning. Hi, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. It is a very tough decision for some voters entering these voting booths that we have here at. PS-153 in Harlem. Why? Well, this is Clinton country, after all, these voters did elect Hillary Clinton to the Senate overwhelmingly twice. Bill Clinton remains very popular here. His office is only about 20 blocks away from here.
And also, the Democratic establishment here in Harlem is supporting Hillary Clinton. But Barack Obama has most definitely made some inroads here. We have been talking with voters a they finish up, and they tell us, well, some say Hillary, some say Barack Obama and some have been in that voting booth trying to make up their mind. We have one right over here. David Hail (PH), tough decision?
DAVID HAIL, VOTER: Yes, yes. The hometown factor was not important to me. What -- trying to figure out the strategy for the long term, I think, is what led me to choose Hillary. I thought that Barack, you know, he'll be around in four, eight years. So maybe something bigger going here. I like the fact that I think we're headed to a more liberal agenda, and I'm all for that.
CHERNOFF: So, you like them both?
HAIL: Yes.
CHERNOFF: And in that booth, that's where you made your decision?
HAIL: In that booth, I made that decision.
CHERNOFF: You stood there for a few minutes.
HAIL: Actually, I did, yes, yes. It took me probably a minute and a half.
CHERNOFF: David, thank you very much. Heidi, that is the sentiment that I've heard several times this morning. People telling me that they weren't sure what they were going to do until they actually stepped into the voting booth. So people for Obama, people for Hillary as well. In terms of Republicans, well, you know, Republicans up in Harlem, it's like trying to find a New England Patriots fan.
COLLINS: Whoa.
CHERNOFF: You don't see many around here.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet not. Well hey, Allan, maybe that's something we should be doing, a statistic that we should be watching for, at least seeing how long it's taking people at the voting booths once they get in there. Maybe we should have a stopwatch on that because some of these choices are so tough.
CHERNOFF: Yes, well, we certainly do see people trying to make up their minds. It's not easy for some folks up here.
COLLINS: All right, very good. CNN's Allan Chernoff not in Patriots territory there in Harlem, New York. Thanks so much, Allan.
Voter disconnect, their lips say one thing, their brain waves something else. CNN's Randi Kaye reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Half a cycle per second. A hundred cycles per second.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We gathered eight undecided California voters to measure how people really vote. Voters may say they prefer one candidate, but the brain actually knows better. Lucid Systems, a cutting-edge market research firm, calls it the unspoken truth. DAVE REMER, CO-FOUNDER, LUCID SYSTEMS: Rather than take someone's word for it, we look directly into their mind and body and see what's going on that they can't control.
KAYE: Lucid's team measures science like perspiration and facial muscle movement, tapping into the emotional reaction, which really shows what we like or dislike.
So when voters tell pollsters one thing, and their brain shows another, it's not a lie but an inarticulated truth. In some cases, what our voters say do match what they feel.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You are looking at that next...
KAYE: But watch what happens during Hillary Clinton's opening remarks. The group says they don't like it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Clinton tends to be a more, you know, kind of embodies the old school of politics.
KAYE: But their brains do like it. The red graph is arousal. The green, emotion. Big waves in green and red say they are moved by it. A positive response.
(on camera) How can this be? The folks at Lucid say our brains are bombarded with 11 million bits of information per second. The problem is, the conscious brain can only process about 40 pieces per second. So, we have to decide pretty fast which of those 11 million bits to do something about.
FERNANDO MIRANDA, CO-FOUNDER, LUCID SYSTEMS: You don't get to think about how fast you're going to run away from a dinosaur. You really have to run.
KAYE (voice-over): This voter is a good example. He tells us he likes both Clinton and Obama equally. But when we read his brain, he's very negative toward the New York senator. Notice the flat line on the bottom. He isn't even aware of it, until we ask him to dig deeper.
ELI GIROD, UNDECIDED VOTER: I didn't feel like anything was new was brought to the table. So, when she was speaking, I kind of zoned out. I was like, "Uh-huh. Heard this before."
KAYE: Another way we measure the brain: this cap, packed with electrodes. Voter Katie Roberts tells us she favors Clinton and Obama equally. But when we show her images of candidates, her brain image turns blue, negative, for Clinton. And the beige color here shows she didn't feel much of anything for Obama.
The biggest surprise, for John Edwards, her brain turns red. She likes him very much.
Call it a neurological lie-detector test. The takeaway here: it may prove to be better than polling at determining what a voter does in the voting booth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Today at noon Eastern, an AMERICAN VOTES special on CNN and CNN.com. Join CNN's Campbell Brown and the best political team on television as we look at the issues influencing super Tuesday voters, at noon Eastern today. Live on CNN and CNN.com.
Dramatic pictures of that terrible apartment fire we told you about in Germany. Parents desperately throwing their children out the window before jumping themselves. The baby in these pictures did survive the fall. The Associated Press says the stairs in the building collapsed right after fire started yesterday. Nine people died in the blaze. Five of them children.
Also in the headlines this morning baseball star Roger Clemens under oath. This hour, the seven time Cy Young Award winning pitcher answers questions on Capitol Hill. It's a closed door deposition for congressional lawyers.
The focus, allegations he used steroids and human growth hormones. It comes one day after former teammate and workout partner Andy Pettitte gave sworn testimony. Clemens' lawyer says his client won't plea the fifth and will tell the truth. Clemens has strongly denied any use of performance enhancing drugs.
Ahead, a store clerk under siege.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously they were intending on, I believe, killing the clerk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: They opened the door and opened fire. See the tape in the newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: North Carolina police need your help finding three men this morning. Police say they shot a store clerk in a botched robbery.
Reporter Fred Sharpshire (ph) has the tape. He's with affiliate WTVD.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED SHARPSHIRE (ph), WTVD REPORTER: It's a small glimpse into a frightening moment. Watch clerk Jose Leon at the store's entrance closely. It happens really fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, obviously they were intending on, I believe, killing the clerk.
SHARPSHIRE: Without warning, three suspects come barrelling in, each with guns waving. One fire a shot into Leon's chest, another shot pierces his hand and jaw. Now watch from another view. After it happens the clerk frantically runs down an aisle, as a third suspect jumps the counter, beats the register, hops back over and flees with the others empty handed. All of this happened at La Campana grocery store during closing. Police say a second clerk inside at the time wasn't injured.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just coming in to do a robbery, that's bad enough. But coming in with the intent of hurting somebody really, really raises a red flag for us.
SHARPSHIRE: This afternoon customers were in and out of the parking lot. The store off Greenpace and Aarondale (ph) open for business. But the owner inside too shaken to say anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time we don't have any links between the suspects or any other reason why the suspects would have come in the store.
SHARPSHIRE: Police say the clerk didn't know the three suspects who wore tight pantyhose over their faces, but they're hoping someone out there will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody knows these people, we believe that they'll be able to recognize them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: This morning that store clerk is recovering from surgery to remove the bullet from this face. Police say his injuries are not life threatening.
Our reporter puts the candidates to the taste test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I offer you an Obama or Hillary cookie?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. I'll try an Obama. Very good, but the media must be impartial, so I'll have to try a Hillary one, too.
Checking in on Americans overseas with an appetite for voting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Voting your identity, some consider it a given. But people are breaking out of their pigeonhole.
CNN's Bill Tucker has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Barack Obama, a black man, an African-American, is in a position to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and to potentially even become the president of the United States. As thrilling an opportunity as many might see it and despite the chance, we haven't left the issue of race behind us yet.
The strongest line may be the one between black and white.
REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: I don't think it's either/or. I do think that, for some very clear, historic reasons, race is, in a sense, the enduring problem, America's original sin. And the thing that you really have got to get across about race in America is -- is that we're talking about systemic, institutionalized injustice that is calcified and reinforced at every level of society.
TUCKER: And it is those systemic issues which help define a vote that can be viewed along racial lines.
SEN. NAN ORROCK (D), GEORGE STATE SENATOR: It's a common place to see people who share an identity voting similarly. There is a black vote. There is a Latino vote.
TUCKER: And groups to pigeonhole those votes. The Pew Hispanic Center reminding politicians that there are more than five million Hispanic voters in California, 750,000 in Arizona. The Asian and Pacific Islanders Voting Group reminding politicians that they represent 5 percent of the U.S. population.
ANDRA GILLESPIE, EMORY UNIVERSITY: We can discern that there are people who vote based on certainly identities. And it's not just their racial or their ethnic identity. People can vote on their religious identity, their regional identity, their gender identity, and all of these other sorts of categorizations.
TUCKER: And each group implies that all members vote exactly the same. Yet, there are some signs that voters are perhaps growing tired of the politics, that they want something more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What this country needs is good leadership, leadership with integrity, leadership with vision, leadership for all the people. Who is going to do that for America? We're not quite sure just yet.
TUCKER: And that indecision with a diverse field to choose from might just cut to the heart of what the civil rights struggles of the late '50s and '60s were truly about, in the words of the late Martin Luther King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: ... a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER (on camera): Unfortunately, politicians looking to gain any edge they can are all too happy to exploit gender, ethnic or racial identities. It's a convenient and expedient strategy, that in the past has worked to get them votes.
Bill Tucker, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Voters may find the weather as stormy as some campaigns today. Live to the severe weather center coming up shortly.
And just about any day during the campaign, you can see celebrities stumping for candidates. Well, here's a snapshot from Super Tuesday eve, you may know her as Ugly Betty, but actress America Ferrara also wants you to know she's for Hillary Clinton. Ferrara spoke to a University of New Mexico audience about health care and financial aid proposals.
And he's used to taking a starring role, but actor Robert De Niro showed up in East Rutherford, New Jersey to support Barack Obama. And Barack Obama's candidacy was enough to bring the Grateful Dead back. Well, at least three surviving members. The band reunited for an Obama rally in San Francisco last night.
Forty-four separate Republican and Democratic contests on this Super Tuesday. It's 46 if you count the 51st state.
CNN's Robin Oakley explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The primaries aren't just for U.S. citizens at home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give us the skinny. What's happening in South Carolina?
OAKLEY: Millions of Americans around the world have been sharing the excitement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is exciting. The whole (ph) primary (INAUDIBLE) for decades.
OAKLEY: And playing their part in fundraising ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much butter do I need?
OAKLEY: ...and campaigning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone, I'd like to officially welcome you to the first Americans Abroad for Hillary global conference call. We have 25 cities from 14 countries on four continents. OAKLEY: On Super Tuesday, Democrats abroad will vote realtime in the first global primary. They'll have 22 delegates at the convention with half a vote each, carrying roughly the same weight as the state of Wyoming.
In London at least, they know how to put the party into politics. Witness this Republicans Abroad happy hour.
MIKI BOWMAN, REPUBLICANS ABROAD UK: People can come in, talk about it and stay involved and socialize as well as talk politics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a big John McCain fan. I ...
BOWMAN: Are you? You must be very happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's a wonderful, wonderful person. I wish I could agree with every one of his positions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know that Obama's known as the beach babe.
OAKLEY: Young Democrats were equally convivial, if a little more political, they held a trial vote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama, Clinton ...
CROWD: (CHEERING)
OAKLEY: Democrats Abroad are taken seriously by their party. They call themselves America's 51st state.
KARIN ROBINSON, BARACK OBAMA SUPPORTER: The campaigns have started to be a lot more engaged about reaching out to every American who lives overseas and thinking about their votes as much as their money.
OAKLEY: Easy to see why.
BILL BARNARD, Democrats ABROAD UK: 2,600 votes or more had been cast in Florida, Al Gore would have been president and George Bush would not.
MARGO MILLER, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: We're kind of (ph) making the difference in a very close kind of race in 2006 when Jim Webb won Virginia and gave the Democrats the control of the Senate.
OAKLEY: Americans Abroad make sure they relish their politics. Like these young Democrats baking candidate cookies for Super Tuesday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I offer you an Obama or Hillary cookie?
OAKLEY (on camera): Thank you, I'll try an Obama. Very good. But the media must be impartial, so I'll have to try a Hillary one, too. Just as well for the sake of my waste line, we're down to a field of two candidates.
(voice-over): But very soon now, we'll have an idea which way the cookie is crumbling.
Robin Oakley, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You're with CNN. Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM on Tuesday, the 5th of February. Here's what's on the rundown. Schools, churches, community centers crowded with Super Tuesday voters. Will today's contest settle a presidential nomination? Twenty-four states in play for the candidates. I ask our panel of radio talk show hosts about the voters and the issues.
Plus, YouTube made them stars. Now, get ready for the Super Tuesday video award. Lots of votes in the NEWSROOM.
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